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Agudath Israel of America
American Montessori Society
Association Montessori International–USA
Association of Christian Schools International
Association of Christian Teachers and Schools
Association of Waldorf Schools of N.A.
Christian Schools International
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Friends Council on Education
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
National Association of Episcopal Schools
National Association of Independent Schools
National Catholic Educational Association
National Christian School Association
Oral Roberts University Educational Fellowship
Seventh-day Adventist Board of Education
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod Schools
 Agudath Israel of America
Agudath Israel of America, founded in 1922, is a broadly based organization with chapters in major communities throughout the United States and Canada. It sponsors a broad range of constructive projects in the fields of education, children's welfare, and social action affecting the lives of young and old in far-flung parts of the Americas, Israel, Europe, and elsewhere. Its responsibilities include representing and promoting the interests of the Orthodox yeshivos and day schools across the country.
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American Montessori Society
 Since
its formation in 1960, the American
Montessori Society has been the mainstay of the Montessori
movement in the United States. AMS is a non-profit, non-discriminatory
service organization committed to promoting quality Montessori education
for all children from birth to 18 years of age.
"Montessori" is a developmentally appropriate approach to learning,
originally designed by Dr. Maria Montessori early in this century. Its
successful application with children from families of all social strata
and special needs continues to attract widespread interest and support.
AMS represents its private and public schools affiliates, certified teachers,
Montessori teacher education programs, parents and advocates. Besides
providing basic information on Montessori to individuals, groups, government
officials and the media, the national headquarters in New York City performs
a variety of functions which includes but are not limited to the following:
- Establishes standards and assists in the start-up of programs,
- Arranges for school consultations and accreditation,
- Affiliates Montessori teacher education courses and issues teaching
credentials,
- Sponsors continuing education workshops, seminars, symposia and conferences,
- Maintains archives and an information databank for the use of parents,
students, researchers and writers,
- Publishes a quarterly, Montessori Life, and books, surveys and reports,
- Supports and participates actively in CAPE.
AMS is a membership-supported organization with funding coming mainly
from schools, teacher education programs, teachers, heads of schools,
other administrators and parents who are determined to make Montessori
a growing educational alternative.
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Association Montessori
International–USA
 The
Association Montessori
International of the United States (AMI/USA) brings the principles
of Dr. Maria Montessori to the education of children, to help them attain
their full potential in our multicultural society. The goals of
AMI/USA are:
- To promote the growth of Montessori education as formulated by Maria
Montessori in both private and public schools;
- To promote the development of teacher training and assist in establishing
training facilities;
- To foster public understanding of the Montessori pedagogical principles
and practice among families and communities;
- To collaborate with AMI affiliated organizations;
- To maintain effective fiscal and organizational strength.
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Association of
Christian Schools International
 The
Association of Christian Schools International
(ACSI) is a ministry with the goal of being an "enabler" for
the evangelical Christian community of preschools, elementary and secondary
schools, and post-secondary schools. ACSI works to accomplish its mission
by providing information, services, and products needed by more than 4,000
member schools in 90 countries. The combined student enrollment of these
member schools now exceeds 870,000 students.
Evangelical Protestant Christian schools are among America's oldest traditions.
It may surprise some that Christian schools have many more years of tradition
in America in educating the public than any other form of education. Christian
schools predate state-funded government schools by 207 years.
Even today our Christian school educators maintain the long-standing
tradition of placing the Bible at the center of our schools as the standard
by which we educate and train the next generation. Noah Webster said it
well: "Education is useless without the Bible." Those are strong
words in today's educational environment. America's twenty-sixth president,
Theodore Roosevelt, would have wholeheartedly agreed with that idea. He
said, "To educate a child in mind and not in morals is to educate
a menace to society."
Academic strength coupled with a biblical worldview in education is not
only a solid tradition of America's past but is the key to America's future.
Christian schools are good not only for North America but for every other
continent in the world.
ACSI began in 1978 as the result of a union of several Christian school
associations throughout the United States and Canada. ACSI is organized
as a nonprofit religious education association. It functions as a practitioner
organization with locally elected district representatives and board of
directors.
As an association, ACSI provides assistance through national and regional
directors and service coordinators. These educational leaders help schools
fulfill their aspirations and responsibilities. However, every member
school or college retains its individual distinctive and operating independence.
ACSI's international headquarters is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Nine U.S. regional offices serve member schools located in every state.
ACSI also has an office in Washington, D.C., which deals with legislative
and regulatory matters. Canada is served by two regional offices. Several
offices are located overseas. Europe is served from Budapest, Hungary;
the former Soviet Union from Kiev, Ukraine; Latin America and the Caribbean
from Guatemala City, Guatemala; and Asia and the Pacific Rim from Manila,
Philippines.
ACSI provides a strong program of support services for a school membership
that is growing at a steady rate. Member schools are free to choose from
a large "menu" of programs and services.
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Association of Christian Teachers and Schools
 The Association of Christian Teachers and Schools (ACTS) offers a wealth of benefits to Christian school teachers and administrators. It strives to enlist every Assemblies of God or Pentecostal / Charismatic Christian teacher and school as active members of its Spirit-filled team. The association’s vision is to join with Christian teachers and schools to build Christian leaders for the 21st century who are empowered by the Holy Spirit. ACTS seeks to promote Christ-centered, Bible-based, Holy Spirit-directed solutions to the education challenges facing our world today.
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Association
of Waldorf Schools of N.A.
 The
Association of Waldorf Schools of North America is an association
of independent Waldorf schools and Waldorf teacher education institutes.
AWSNA's mission is to encourage and further Waldorf education, and to
assist each school and teacher training center linked through it in the
United States, Canada and Mexico to improve the quality of the education
it offers.
Waldorf Education is a developmentally appropriate, balanced education
that integrates the arts and academics for children from preschool through
twelfth grade. Waldorf Education encourages the development of each child's
sense of truth, beauty, and goodness; an antidote to violence, alienation,
and cynicism. The aim of the education is to fully develop the capacities
of each student and to inspire a love for lifelong learning.
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Christian Schools
International
 Christian
Schools International is a community of Christian day schools
and affiliated institutions which share a Reformed, Christian perspective.
Our members are located primarily throughout North America and are organized
geographically into districts.
Our mission is to advance Christian education and to support schools in
their task of teaching students to know God and his world and to glorify
him through obedient service.
Christian Schools International, through the international office or its
districts, provides programs for and counsel to school boards, administrators,
students and teachers. We also assist member schools in serving the parents
and constituents in their communities. Specifically we provide:
- leadership for a united witness regarding the role of Christian education
in society,
- materials that promote and explain the concept of Christian education,
- biblically-based textbooks, curriculum materials, and periodicals,
- information and encouragement for organizing, governing, and administering
schools in ways which honor Christian principles,
- health and benefit programs for employees and their families which
demonstrate biblical concern for their well-being.
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Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America
 Education
has been a cornerstone in the Lutheran tradition. The Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) continues to provide and support
schools for children in their youngest stages of development through to
those who pursue learning in the university. The ELCA is a church body
of five million members belonging to 11,000 congregations throughout the
United States and the Caribbean.
More than 2,000 congregations in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
provide either an early childhood education center, elementary schools
or secondary school. In the past four years the ELCA has experienced a
steady rise in the number of schools operated by congregations. The programs
are an integral element in the ministry of the congregation as it carries
out its mission in developing intellectual skills of youngsters as well
as nurturing spiritual formation.
Lutheran schools and centers can be found in urban, suburban and rural
settings serving a quarter of a million children. The children and students
enrolled in these schools often are not Lutheran. It is not the intent
of congregations to operate schools solely for members, but rather as
a way of reaching out and cooperatively joining hands with the community
in efforts for quality education of the whole child. More than one third
of the students enrolled in Lutheran elementary and secondary schools
and almost one quarter of the school staffs are African American, Hispanic
or Asian.
The mission of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American in education
is to advance excellence which embraces every field and level of learning
and to build community. The ELCA Department of Schools offers programs,
leadership, support, advocacy and counsel to early childhood education
centers and schools to assist them in nurturing members of their communities
for service to God, to church, and the world.
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Friends
Council on Education
 In
1668 The Religious Society of Friends set up schools where boys and girls
could be taught those things which would make them useful members of society.
More than that, education, according to the Quaker theory, ought not to
be man-centered nor state-centered. It must minister to the needs of body,
mind, and spirit; it must be both for time and for eternity; it must partake
of both the human and the divine. Today, over 300 years later, this theory
serves as the core of the philosophy of each of our North American Friends
schools.
Founded in 1931, the Friends Council
on Education is a coordinating service for Quaker nursery, elementary,
and secondary schools in the United States. Among the 77 Friends schools
it serves are some of the oldest in North America, with traditions that
have played a major part in the Quaker heritage of the Western world.
The Council acts as a source of nurture for the schools by offering workshops,
special consultations for teachers and administrators, financial grants
to assist schools, and publishing a newsletter and pamphlets on Friends
education. Through its work with CAPE, the Council serves as the national
voice for Friends concerns for the education of all children.
The Friends Council on Education sees its strength in trying to enhance
the continuum of deeply felt religious values through all its schools
and colleges, not for the parochial advantage of those involved in them,
but for the common good and public purpose they serve.
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Lutheran Church–Missouri
Synod
 Since
1640 Lutheran schools have existed in our country. Early Lutheran settlers
upheld the high value of education which continues to be upheld by the
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
(LCMS). According to the LCMS by-laws, "the most effective education
agencies available to the church for equipping children and youth for
ministry are the full-time Lutheran elementary and secondary schools."
Initially our schools were begun to teach the church family's students
how to read so they could study the Bible and the catechism. Gradually,
the curriculum was expanded to include the other subjects which became
standard in the "new" public schools, so Lutheran school students
could become productive Christian citizens and church leaders. It is assumed
that the Christian faith is shared, as opportunities arise, throughout
the school day in all subjects by Lutheran Christian teachers.
From our oldest Lutheran school, St. Mathew in Manhattan, which has been
continuously operating since 1752, the LCMS has expanded to 2023 Lutheran
schools. There are Lutheran schools in every state. Currently, there are
62 LCMS high schools, 991 elementary schools and 1,170 early childhood
centers serving a total of 280, 714 students. Of this total, 199,209 students
are in elementary schools, 16,047 in secondary schools and 65,458 in early
childhood centers. A total of 17,819 educators serve in this schools,
70% of which are specifically prepared and certified by the LCMS to serve
in our Lutheran schools. Most early childhood educators are employed part
time. These church-certified educators are considered to be Ministers
of Religion, Commissioned by the LCMS. Most also hold state teaching certificates.
Approximately 42% of the students in Lutheran schools are members of the
operating congregations. The rest, 58%, come from the general public,
seeking the quality Christian education we provide. Luther school students
are 84% white, 6% Black, 5% Hispanic, 3% Asian and 2% from other racial
groups.
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National Association
of Episcopal Schools
 The
mission of the National Association of
Episcopal Schools is to serve those who serve Episcopal schools. Within
the Christian tradition of inclusion and open inquiry, the National Association
of Episcopal Schools:
- Affirms the spiritual dimension of learning that values both faith
and reason.
- Creates and nurtures an extended community of leaders in order to
foster partnerships, unity, mutual support, and professional growth.
- Promotes personal formation through moral, spiritual, intellectual,
creative, physical, and social development.
- Assists Episcopal schools in creating supportive communities through
worship, learning, pastoral care, and service.
- Recognizes, appreciates, and supports the diversity within and among
Episcopal schools.
- Helps schools explore, discover, and articulate their visions and
ministries as Episcopal schools.
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National Association
of Independent Schools
 The
National Association
of Independent Schools (NAIS), a voluntary non-profit membership
association, is the national advocate for independent elementary and secondary
schools in the United States and abroad. NAIS member schools are non-profit,
tax-exempt organizations that maintain fiscal independence from tax or
church monies. They practice nondiscriminatory policies, are approved
by a recognized evaluation process, and are independently governed by
boards of trustees.
NAIS provides professional development and many other support services
for members -- from seminars to seed money. NAIS promotes independent
education to the general public and speaks out for members with a national
voice on national issues. The association publishes Independent School
magazine and numerous books and newsletters of interest to the education
community.
Large schools, small schools, established schools, new schools, day schools,
boarding schools, coed schools, single-sex schools -- NAIS services or
clusters of services are of benefit to every subgroup among independent
schools. Key individuals within the independent school community -- heads,
trustees, division heads, admission/[ financial aid and development officers,
business managers, directors of studies, deans of faculty, department
heads and association executives -- are the focus for NAIS services.
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National Catholic
Educational Association
 The
National Catholic Educational Association
(NCEA) is the largest private professional education association in the
world. Founded in 1904, the association represents 200,000 Catholic educators
serving 7.6 million students enrolled in elementary and secondary schools,
colleges and universities, religious education programs and seminaries
throughout the United States.
NCEA advocates recognition of and support for Catholic education at local,
national and international levels. In providing leadership and service
to its members, the association conducts an annual convention and exposition
for all those interested in Catholic education as well as a special convocation
for Directors of Religious Education. Last year, this event attracted
10,000 delegates and featured 350 workshops. The annual meeting of NCEA's
Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities is held in mid-winter
and the department of Chief Administrators of Catholic education convenes
in the fall. A development symposium and numerous workshops and summer
programs also are organized each year.
The association conducts extensive research and publishes a variety of
reports and handbooks and collects annual statistics on teachers and students
in Catholic schools. NCEA Notes and an award-winning journal, Momentum,
are among the association's many periodic publications.
Government relations is a key undertaking of the association, and the
NCEA president and departmental leaders work closely with colleagues at
the United States Catholic Conference to promote member interest at the
U.S. Department of Education, the National Governors Association and the
legislative and executive branches of government.
Another collaborative project with USCC is the national marketing campaign
in support of Catholic education. Congress'96, a follow-up to the National
Congress on Catholic Schools for the Twenty-first Century held in November
1991, will be held during the April convention in Philadelphia. The congress
has been designed to chart a course for a larger and stronger Catholic
school network in the United States. By telling the story of Catholic
schools' academic and religious successes to legislators, community and
business leaders and other key audiences, the campaign serves to broaden
support for Catholic education.
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National Christian
School Association
 The
National Christian School
Association is an educational association of more than 120 secondary
schools in 30 states serving more than 40,000 students. Most NCSA schools
are independent, governed by a self-perpetuating board. A few are a ministry
of a particular congregation, children's home or university. All the schools
have a strong relationship with the churches of Christ. Students of all
faiths are welcome at member schools of the National Christian School
Association.
The roots of the NCSA date back to annual conferences of Christian school
administrators since 1975. The current NCSA began in 1980 as Partners
in Christian education, a fraternal organization for schools associated
with the churches of Christ. In 1988 the name was changed to the National
Christian School Association. A Board of Trustees made up of administrators
from member schools and headed by a president leads the NCSA.
Since 1988 the Association has been accrediting its member schools. A
Board of Commissioners comprised of administrators from accredited schools,
university educators and public school administrators governs the process.
The NCSA is a member of the National Council for Private School Accreditation,
a consortium of several private school organizations dedicated to preserving
the integrity of the accreditation process for thousands of private schools
across the nation.
The NCSA is recognized by the Office of Non-Public Education in the U.S.
Department of Education, the National Center for Educational Statistics
and the U.S. Census Bureau. The NCSA's Children's Crown and Lamplighter
Awards for outstanding children's literature have been recognized by the
Accelerated Reader corporation, which makes a diskette of questions from
books on the list available to all public and private schools each year.
National Christian School Association member schools stress academic
excellence in a Christian environment. Most member schools are accredited
by one or more state, regional or private accrediting agencies. As a group,
NCSA schools average between the 70th and 95th percentiles in standardized
test scores. Graduates of NCSA schools typically score higher than their
state averages on ACT and SAT scores. Two member schools have earned the
"Blue Ribbon School" designation from the U.S. Department of
Education, the nation's highest secondary school award. Each year, NCSA
member schools in several states win athletic, music and forensics titles
competing with both public and private schools.
The NCSA holds its annual convention the first weekend in March each
year. Recent speakers at NCSA conventions have included former secretary
of education and best-selling author William J. Bennett, Richard W. Riley,
Secretary of Education for the Clinton administration and publisher Knight
Kiplinger of the Kiplinger Report.
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Oral Roberts University Educational Fellowship
 The
Oral
Roberts University Educational Fellowship (ORUEF) is a professional
service organization that provides networking opportunities and support
services for Charismatically open Christian preschools, elementary/secondary
schools, and Bible schools. ORUEF is a vital component in collaborating
with the Oral Roberts University to fulfill its goals.
With a network of schools that serve more than 36,000 K-12 students in
the United States, ORUEF "seeks to instill within member schools
an enthusiasm to be responsible and reputable leaders in the field of
education—professionally, academically, and spiritually." Another
goal is to help Christian schools become stronger while increasing camaraderie
among Christian school leaders, teachers, and staff.
The many services that ORUEF provides member schools include "a
National Christian Honor Student Association, legal referral, assistance
in curriculum development, new school seminars, and the National Christian
High School Finals Competition. Each May ORUEF sponsors on the ORU campus,
a national Christian high school competition with approximately 1,500
students competing in over 140 events, including art, music, drama, speech,
debate, academics, athletics, and cheerleading."
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Seventh-day Adventist Board of Education
 The Seventh-day
Adventist Church in North America operates a system of elementary
and secondary schools that began officially in 1872. The 1150 schools
come in all sizes and reach from Portland, Maine to Nome, Alaska, from
Key West, Florida to Calexico, California. In addition, the church operates
in North America ten colleges and two universities. It is one of the larger
protestant parochial school systems in the United States with nearly 90,000
students enrolled at all levels.
The Church's philosophy of Christian education is based on scripture and
contributes significantly to academic excellence and to the nurture and
continuation of values and religion which have been part of the North
American tradition for nearly four centuries.
The primary aim of Seventh-day Adventist schools is to provide opportunity
for students to accept Christ as their Savior and to provide a climate
of warmth and caring where faith can develop and mature.
The education program is predicated on the belief that each student is
unique and of inestimable value, and on the importance of the development
of the whole person. The home, church and school work together to provide
a consistent voice where children can grow into balanced, mature adults
able to love God and care about others. Students are encouraged to be
sensitive to the needs of people in the home and society and to become
active members in the church and the community.
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United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops
 USCCB's
Department of Education assists the bishops in their pastoral mission
of teaching and promoting catechesis and education as a life-long process
of total Catholic education that has, at its heart, evangelization.
The department staffs the USCCB's Committee on Education and its related
committees and implements their directives and recommendations.
The department works collaboratively with other USCCB secretariats and
departments, as well as with national, state, and local organizations
that participate in the service of the Church's educational and catechetical
ministries. The department represents the interests of the Church's educational
and catechetical ministries with national, state, and local agencies that
affect these ministries.
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Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod Schools
 Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod Schools exist to educate children, strengthen families, and serve the church with the power of teaching that is deeply rooted in the Bible and fully expresses the love of Jesus. The WELS Commission on Parish Schools exists to guide and assist WELS congregations in advancing the Gospel of Jesus by providing resources, training, and personal assistance for starting and strengthening Lutheran schools.
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